By: Rod Scarlett, Canadian Honey Council
On August 22nd I traveled to Istanbul to attend Apimondia. Events started with the opening ceremonies in the evening of August 24th. It was followed by a supper hosted by Chile for a select number of voting delegates. The program started on the 25th and the morning stream was on honey fraud. Being involved with the drafting of APIMONDIA’s definition for honey, I know first hand that Apimondia is taking the issue of honey fraud very seriously and the presentations focused on the economic impacts, technological advances and aspects of the honey trade. The first session, “Protecting Honey Purity: The USP Identity Standard,” presented by Gina Clapper and Norberto García, set the stage. It provided the data outlining the severity of the problem and the definitions needed to address the problem. Subsequent presentations on mitigation measures, supply chain relationships, testing criteria and honey purity programs added to the complexity of the problem. I was particularly struck by the presentation of Etienne Bruneau on “Economic Anomalies” where he illustrated the rapid expansion in honey exports from countries that in no way, shape or form can produce the exported amount of honey. While the USA has addressed some of the problem with the introduction of honey tariffs, it was important to note that not all the countries identified as exporting amounts greater than production are included in the tariffs. For me, I thought this was a very worthwhile session providing information that will prove valuable in discussions with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. A separate roundtable on honey fraud occurred a couple of days later with panelist fielded questions from convention attendees. As a bonus, having the opportunity to have detailed discussions with Prof. Norberto Garcia and Jodie Goldsworthy of Australia will be useful on the international level. It should be noted that a proposed meeting with the Apimondia honey fraud committee was canceled as too many members were unable to attend. It will be rescheduled to later this Fall.
Later in the week, a second session on climate change caught my eye. Again, a complex issue that beekeepers are going to have to pay increasing attention to as the effects on stock and the environment will have lasting implications. The presentations focused on extreme weather changes, biological resilience and beekeeper management practices.
The closing ceremonies were highlighted by the awarding of the Apimondia Congress in 2025 to a joint bid from the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Beekeeping Associations. As far as attendance is concerned, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. My guess is that about over four thousand people showed up over the course of four days. There was good representation from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and of course Turkey, but the rest of the world (with the exception of Chile, which is hosting the next Apimondia Congress on September 4-8, 2023), not so much. There were about 10 or so Canadians and the same number of Americans in attendance. In conclusion, the 47th International Congress was well run and proved to have a number of sessions that engaged beekeepers as well as academics.
